Ask and Be Answered
by bhujmnoi
Summary: Luke goes back in time from the Second Death Star to before Anakin becomes Darth Vader. Can Luke save his father from turning to the Dark Side before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

The pain was all-consuming. There was no way to escape. Not even looking forward to the end of the terror could pacify the incredible strength of the pain; there was no room for those thoughts. Oh, the pain! Where would the end be? Would it be of some miracle where life could go on afterwards or would it be just that-the end forever? No. There's got to be a way, for survival wasn't just a mere personal matter but would affect the galaxy at large. Despite the constant electrical torment, it was clear that failure was not even in the spectrum of possible courses of action to take in this situation. But the pain!

_Don't focus on the pain_, Luke told himself. _You have to get out of this one. It's not just your neck on the line anymore_. Images of Leia, Han, Chewie, and Lando flashed before his eyes, covering up the sight of the Emperor standing above him. His pasty hands extended from his cloak and hung above his hips, ready for another round of Force lightning to thrust at the young Jedi laying in pure agony before him. Luke dazed through the images of his friends to see his impending death, standing there next to the man who was responsible for Luke's very being-the most feared man in the galaxy-Darth Vader-his father.

Who was Darth Vader? It was clear to anyone that he was a man of notorious repute, but he wasn't always that way. As Master Yoda and Ben told Luke, the black-clad man standing there as a henchman to the Emperor had once been a great and powerful Jedi. _What could have happened?_ Luke managed to wonder while being burnt to a corpse. How could a man who was once such a wonderful Jedi turn around and slaughter them all, as if they hadn't been on his side for all of those years? There's no way that the seemingly heartless monster didn't still have some of Anakin Skywalker left in him. Luke was sure that he hadn't completely succumbed to the Dark Side. So how come his plan to redeem his father had failed so tragically? He was supposed to turn against his Emperor and turn away from the evil he was pursuing in trade for the Light, for mercy, for freedom. Obi-Wan and Yoda were supposed to be wrong. Everyone was supposed to see that even in the darkest room there was a light switch, no matter paid to how hidden, that could light up the shadows and cast light over what was once strangled with pervasive shade. Anakin was supposed to come back.

"Father, please. Help me," Luke cried out in anguish. The tremendous pain was becoming almost too much to withstand, and he was becoming weaker by the second. Much more of this, Luke knew, and he'd be dead. _Well,_ he thought, _it's better than few years ago when I would've died at the hands of Tusken Raiders. And on the Death Star. And Hoth. And Bespin. Even just on Endor._ This was his last fight-he accepted that. What Luke couldn't accept was the fact that his real father-Anakin Skywalker-had refused to turn his back on the Dark Side. That hurt more than any physical injury, including the loss of his right arm at the graces of this man, that ever has been inflicted on Luke.

As Luke he was beginning to slip from under his control, Luke felt the pain cease a large fraction, and everything became light, making it impossible to see anything aside from the blindingly pale light that seemed to be focused on just Luke. He felt somewhat relieved when the electrical torment slowed down graciously, but that didn't last for long-a floor suddenly appeared beneath him and he flopped onto it fairly hard. When had he gotten up from the floor of the Second Death Star?

_Wait a minute_, though Luke, dulled pain and skepticism dominating him. _I'm not in the throne room anymore. The Force energies here are of better intentions. _Then the light vanished to be replaced with darkness as Luke slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Luke opened his eyes, adjusting the blue to the astoundingly unfamiliar scenery. He was lying on a stone bed in a dim-lit chamber. This was weird. Last he knew, Luke was being fried on the Death Star by the most powerful man in the galaxy. What happened? _Did the Alliance find me and take me here?_ The biggest question was where _is_ here? Something weird was going on, and it was in Luke's best interest to find out. He didn't think that this was something that the Alliance would do. What kind of game was the Empire playing? Too many questions, too many worries, and no one around to help. He was starting to get a headache. _Hey, at least you're alive to _get _a headache._

As soon as the headache made its presence known, it seemed to diminish almost completely. It seemed as though an outsider were helping him out and lessening the pain for him. Luke knew that trick... he's had to use the Force in the past to put Leia's mind at rest while they were looking for Han not too long ago. Is someone else using the Force? No, that couldn't be possible. The only other people in galaxy who could handle the Force enough to ease someone's mind would never use their powers for such a good deed. Unless...

No. Darth Vader didn't become Darth Vader and was definitely not making Luke feel better. If anything, his confrontation with Vader was making him feel unstable. He brought his prosthetic hand in front of his face to see if he could still move. Well, he could, but he saw two of them instead of just one. _Alright, who's messing with my mind and making me see double_?

The Force! It wasn't just a stained black cloth trying to suffocate his presence anymore. It was... Light! Were there Jedi there? But Vader-the name sent a shiver down his horizontal spine-murdered all of the Jedi. _Well, most of them, _Luke thought with a smirk. But where was the Light coming from? He sank into the Force to find the source of the comforting being. His senses stretched out and didn't have to extend far before they brushed against just a part of the great Light he was experiencing. This flavor of the bright pool of the Force was heading in Luke's direction now. _Good. It's about time to get some questions answered._

A somewhat tall man with graying black hair and green eyes walked in then. So this was the Force presence Luke felt. He looked friendly enough, despite the scarred face that just begged for someone to notice gave him a scornful look. He walked over to Luke and closed his eyes in deep concentration. Luke was wondering what he was doing but didn't want to question the man for the fact that he could very well be in charge of what happens to him, and he didn't feel well enough to argue orders he didn't really like. Even though his skills were a little underdeveloped, Luke could still tell that man before him was pouring Force energy into him to do a little check-up. _Why's he checking up on me?_

"Because, young one, you've suffered from calcification," the man answered Luke's thought. "I'm Jedi Master Tholme, and to answer your next question, you're in the Healer's Hall of the Jedi Temple."

The Jedi Temple? Luke had heard of that before, heard it from Obi-Wan. He said it was where all of the Jedi of the Old Republic lived and trained. Shouldn't that have been destroyed by Vader as well? Perhaps the group that this man—this supposed Jedi—belonged to had established a secret version and was running it under strict rules to remain hidden. Maybe they thought that if they worked hard enough, they'd be able to take down the Sith. It was even possible that this man was delusional, though his and the others' Force presences made that possibility one that didn't really seem likely.

"I'm sorry, the Jedi Temple?" Luke wondered to this Tholme guy. This whole deal was just getting more and more abstruse by the minute. And that headache was starting to come back.

"Yes. The Jedi Temple," Tholme said with a suspicious look on his deranged face. "My former Padawan found you in one of the halls unconscious and brought you here, to the Healing Chambers." Tholme closed his eyes and centered his mind on Luke, using the Force to aid him in the task of finding out if this young man had some sort of a concussion. He appeared to be alright physically, but Tholme couldn't understand his complete confusion concerning the situation he was in. "Young man," he started cautiously. "What do you last remember?"

_What difference does it make_, Luke wanted to say. _I'm where I am now, so tell me where I am._" Well, uh, I haven't a clue as to where I am now, so I'd appreciate it if you could give me that tidbit of information first, please." The look Tholme gave him let him know that he already told him. Luke decided just to tell the man, hoping that there wouldn't be any real consequences to that course of action," I was on the ground of the Second Death Star-"

"_Death Star_?" Tholme asked horrendously. Luke supposed that their little operation here couldn't be that high-class if they hadn't heard that the Empire was building another Death Star.

"Yeah, they made another one-"

Yet again, Luke got cut off by the Healer, "Another? I think you're at your wits ends, young one. Who is _they_?" Luke was feeling exasperated. Had he not even heard of the _first _Death Star? He thought everyone in the entire galaxy knew about it. And the Empire was obviously_ they_. Who else would name something so violently? Tholme shook his head in resignation. "You may be suffering from these head games for a while, but I'm sure it'll come back to you just was happened."

Luke was also feeling uncharacteristically resigned, so he let the subject drop, letting out a deep huff as he sat up, blood rushing to his head and causing it to pound even more. "Okay," Luke chirped and started standing up to leave. "Thank you very much for helping me, but I'll just be on my way," Luke started towards the doorway to get out of this weird place. He couldn't _really_ be in the Jedi Temple, now could he? He was anxious to know what was happening on Endor. _Oh, no_, Luke thought. Was the Death Star still there? How much time had passed since he'd been there? It was time to really buckle down and make sure everyone was safe.

Tholme's hand grabbed Luke, who weakly staggered under the impact. "Oh, no you're not," he said sternly. He started to bring Luke back to his stone bed to lie down to rest. "Did you hear me before? Your bones got intensely electrified and it's affecting your nervous system. You've gotta stay here and heal for a few days."

"I'm fine," Luke countered, staring intently into Tholme's eyes to let him know that he was serious, too. This stranger wasn't just going to tell Luke that he couldn't help his friends. His argument was futile, however, when he started seeing two Tholmes. _Maybe I could lie down for just a little while_, Luke persuaded himself. Leia and Han will be safe. He'd surely have felt it anything happened to Leia-she was his twin after all. That thought made Luke smile even as he started lying down. He spared one last glance out the door and was certain that he saw the face of someone he knew. It was much more youthful than he remembered, and didn't seem quite as sagacious, but Luke knew that he just saw a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi walk past the doorway to his chamber.


End file.
